Industrial IoT Security: Key Trends and Best Practices for 2020

Industrial IoT (IIoT) security is evolving rapidly. Since joining Cisco’s IoT security team as product manager for Cyber Vision, I’ve seen how the industry has matured in just a few years, creating a landscape ripe for secure, large‑scale IIoT deployments.

Market consolidation

Acquisitions of niche product vendors signal market validation and signal that a technology is becoming mainstream. The past year saw Cisco acquire Sentryo, a move that confirms the growing acceptance of IIoT security. Expect continued consolidation as the sector matures.

While M&A activity is a positive sign, it also complicates procurement decisions. Choose partners who will support you long‑term. When evaluating vendors, consider:

• Company stability – Will the vendor be a reliable partner in 3, 5, or 10 years? Assess the maturity of their product road‑map, professional services, and support.
• R&D investment – Does the organization invest enough resources to innovate while scaling?
• Strategic roadmap – What are the short‑, mid‑, and long‑term plans for the product and the company?

Security embedded at the edge

At Cisco, we believe security must live at the edge. That philosophy guided our acquisition of Sentryo, the only IIoT security vendor we identified that delivered a true edge architecture. Edge architecture moves processing power into routers, switches, and gateways, which scales better, cuts costs, and preserves bandwidth—critical in industrial environments.

Edge computing is a natural extension of virtualization and containerization. Our first Cyber Vision hardware sensor runs on the IC3000 Industrial Compute platform, which powers many of our edge devices. Sentryo’s approach complemented our hardware strategy, completing the integrated IIoT cybersecurity, networking, and IT security stack.

When designing 2020 IoT deployments, prioritize edge computing to improve scalability, reduce cost, and limit network impact.

From convergence to collaboration

OT and IT teams will succeed only when they collaborate. Effective cooperation starts with shared data discovery and joint analysis. For example, if an IT SOC flags a device with a CVE score of 9.2 that is part of a mission‑critical process, the SOC must communicate the risk to OT peers and work together on remediation. Without that dialogue, the threat remains invisible.

OT/IT convergence is incremental; it requires deliberate effort from both sides. In 2020, organizations should audit their tools and identify friction points that hinder alignment.

Security is essential for any IIoT deployment, and emerging solutions are making it easier to protect industrial processes. Watch how these innovations unlock new use cases throughout the year.

To learn how Cisco approaches IoT security, visit our IoT security page, contact your local sales team or partner, or join us at S4x20 in Miami in January. Stay tuned for major 2020 security announcements!